The World Series of Poker (presented by Milwaukee's Beast Light, actually, for the full title), kicked into full gear this past week with some of the biggest news of all --- Phil Hellmuth, Jr. secured his career-record 11th gold bracelet. It’s just at the top of a ver-r-r-r-y busy week for poker news, so we’re just gonna spin-‘n’-spew, because it’s all good... know what we mean?

Hellmuth Snares 11th World Series of Poker (WSOP) Bracelet --  Hidden deep within the confines of a makeshift tent that’s been dubbed the "Bluff Sequestrium" by the local wags, Hellmuth took down the title in Event #15, $1,500 No Limit Hold Em in an event seen live by almost no one; it was being taped for a pay-per-Netcast airing, and delayed one hour.  Hellmuth came from second place, as action started, to dominate the table, even if not many people are sure exactly how.  Hellmuth also grabbed a few bucks for the win... if $637,254 is a few.

Frank Bill Gets Hearing... and Not Much More --  Ahh, the dog-and-pony routine was in high gear on Friday in D.C. when the much-ballyhooed Barney Frank bill to legitimize and regulate online gambling was discussed before the Financial Services Committee, which Frank chairs.  The pro-gambling forces brought out several technological experts to explain the issues and debunk the myths associated with gambling, money laundering, underage access and addiction, all of which are quite provably addressable and manageable concerns.

The other side dragged out the Rev. Greg Hogan, father of the distressed Lehigh U. student, Greg Hogan, Jr., who robbed a bank in Pennsylvania because of his online-poker debts.  The end result was that no one changed their minds -- not the Logical Left nor the Reactionary Right.  But soon after, Frank announced that he was pulling the bill from further consideration, stating that he just didn’t have enough votes.  Problem was, he knew that going in... so why all the fuss and bother?

‘Kid Poker’ Jumps to PokerStars --  This one was rumored for weeks and turned out to be for real.  Daniel Negreanu, formerly the spokesman for Full Contact Poker, has decided to join Team PokerStars where he’ll no doubt snuggle with close buddy Greg Raymer.  (Let’s see if they’re next to one another in Stars group photos.)  But seriously, no way this one could happen without the following news, hot on its heels....

Full Contact Poker Ceases Operations --  ... at least as an online poker room.  It was technically separate from the Negreanu signing, but Negreanu was so intertwined with Full Contact Poker (FCP) that the poker room’s future without him was almost inconceivable.  Indeed, Full Contact has boarded up the windows, effective immediately, with player balances being transferred over to -- you guessed it -- PokerStars.  FCP customers are to be receiving emails immediately with instructions detailing how to open a new Stars account or to properly match up their existing Stars accounts to their existing FCP ones.  Full Contact Poker will still remain in existence, but not as an online poker site.  Instead, the site will house Daniel’s blog, the popular online forum, and the video-based poker instruction school, among other features.

Cunningham Wins 5th WSOP Bracelet --  If there’s a long-term challenger to Phil Hellmuth for WSOP bracelet supremacy, it just might be Allen Cunningham.  Barely 30, Cunningham claimed his fifth career bracelet only a day before Hellmuth grabbed his 11th.  Cunningham’s triumph came in event #13, Pot Limit Hold Em, long recognized as one of the tougher poker variations and a crowning achievement in itself among poker veterans.  Cunningham fought his way through a tough table for the $487,287 win, including start-of-day leader Jeffrey Lisandro, Humberto Brenes, Gavin Griffin, and last year’s winner in the same event, Jason Lester.

O Where Art Thou, Vinny Vinh? --  Sometimes the news at the WSOP is just strange, from the vaunted new Poker Pavilion having to be shut for a day due to high winds, to incredibly long lines that left hundreds of players shut out of some early events.  But no tale is stranger than that of Vinny Vinh, who disappeared after Day One of the $1,000 No Limit Hold Em (w/ re-buys) event.  The latest reports are that Vinh has been seen alive though his condition remains unknown, with several reports now hinting at a substance-abuse problem that went out of control.  Members of Men The Master Nguyen’s crew (of which Vinh is a part) were seen frantically trying to reach Vinh on cell phones as Vinh’s chips were blinded away, but to no avail.  It was quite the stack of chips, too, lasting all the way to 20th place, well up the "cash" portion of the leader board.  The tale is eerily reminiscent of the famous episode wherein the late Stuey Ungar failed to show up after building a big stack the previous day, and that when being backed by Billy Baxter.

Wexler Bill Introduced, Seeks "Skill Games" Carve-Out --  Any other week, this might be the lead, but here it is, 27th on the hot list this time around.  Florida Democratic Congressman Robert Wexler introduced legislation designed to exempt so-defined "skill games" (including poker and mahjong) from the reaches of the UIGEA.  Called the Skill Game Protection Act, the bill received immediate hailing from the Poker Players Alliance, but may be doomed to a similar fate as the Frank measure -- favored by a majority of legislators but blocked by a weird collection of fringe or protectionist elements.  It’s a bill to watch, though, that’s for sure.